County property values fall for some in new assessments

Annual assessment notices from Snohomish County show another dip in property values, though less than in recent years.

The average drop for 2012 home values, including condos, was 7.8 percent. Commercial properties decreased much less, by only about a half-percentage point.

Those decreases translate into a nearly $4.8 billion loss in assessed value of property countywide compared to the same time last year. The addition of new construction this summer is likely to offset that drop somewhat.

The latest assessed values reflect the 2011 housing market and will be used to calculate property taxes owed in 2013. Lower property values don’t necessarily translate into lower taxes because of Washington’s budget-based taxing system.

The new assessment notices are due to reach residential property owners by mail this week. Commercial property owners can expect their notices to arrive next week, after they hit the mail on Monday.

Anybody who disagrees with their assessed value has 60 days from the notice’s mailing date to appeal. Next year’s tax notices, which are expected to be mailed in February, will factor in any new levies that voters pass this year.

Snohomish County in 2012 saw the smallest drop in assessed home values since 2008, when the decrease averaged just 1.9 percent. The decline was 12.7 percent in 2011, 9.7 percent in 2010 and 11.6 percent in 2009.

More info: Call 425-388-3433, visit http://assessor.snoco.org or go in person to the Assessor’s Office customer service desks at 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett.